Two Days at the Shanghai Disney Resort
Flying into Shanghai and my experience at the resort.
The first stop during our trip to all the Disney Parks in Asia was the newest park in the Disney lineup: Shanghai!
Do You Need a Visa to Visit Shanghai?
Applying for a visa in advance is required to visit China, but there are exceptions for certain areas for short amounts of time by using a transit visa. With the transit visa, you can stay for a short amount of time while passing through China to another country. Meaning, if you are flying into China from the United States, you have to fly to a third county before flying back to the United States. Shanghai’s transit visa is for 144 hours. We just needed proof printed out of where we were staying while in Shanghai, as well as proof of our flight leaving China within the 144 hour time period.
Of course, please make sure to look up the current rules and regulations before you plan your trip because you never know when things can change! Also, I’m from the United States, so please make sure it is the same for you if you are from another country.
Getting From the Airport to the Hotel
When we were planning how to get from the Shanghai Pudong International Airport to the Disneyland Hotel, I saw on the Shanghai Disney Resort website that you can take the metro, and I read online somewhere else that it was really easy to do so. We didn’t want to spend a lot of money on a taxi so that’s what we decided to do.
There are a couple of things we didn’t realize when choosing this option:
- The train ride took over an hour. We didn’t turn on our portable wi-fi until we were already on the train and put it into GPS. Whoops… This wouldn’t have been bad if it wasn’t really late at night and if we had slept within the last 24 hours.
- The station isn’t at the hotel. For some reason, I thought it went directly to the Disneyland Hotel, but you need to take a bus from the train station to the hotel.
- Our flight landed really late and we arrived after the park was closed. This ended up being fine because the bus was still running. But it was scary when we arrived and nobody else was there, we didn’t know if the bus went to the hotel, and we didn’t know if the bus was even still running. Thankfully a bus showed up and we finally got to the hotel.
When our friends arrived the next night, they took a taxi. If I remember correctly, it took about 20 minutes and was only around $15. Now knowing how to get there from the metro, I might choose that option again if I were arriving earlier in the day and wasn’t exhausted from not sleeping before. However, the taxi option is what I wish we did at the time.
Staying at the Disneyland Hotel
If you have ever stayed at a hotel on Disney property, you know how convenient it is. The Disneyland Hotel at the Shanghai Disney Resort is no exception. To get to the parks, all you have to do is walk out the back of the hotel lobby, get on a ferry boat, and the Downtown Disney District and entrance to the park are basically right there. On our last night there we realized you can also easily walk across a bridge to get to the Downtown Disney District.
Going into the Park
Our first day in the park was the day before a holiday and it was raining, so it wasn’t crowded at all. Unfortunately, the second day was a holiday in China and it was very busy. We were there with a Disney employee, and because it was a holiday we couldn’t get in on their pass for the first half of the day. So if you are going with an employee, know that can happen. But to everyone, employee or not, avoid holidays. I know that might seem super obvious, and I originally tried to avoid holidays in all of our destinations, but we had to change our flights last minute and ended up going to Hong Kong Disneyland during a holiday as well.
Must Ride and See Attractions
Number one on my list is Pirates of the Caribbean Battle for the Sunken Treasure. This is my favorite Disney ride out of all the parks. I heard a lot about it before going but didn’t watch any videos so it was a complete surprise, which is what I prefer. This is a completely different ride from the original that makes you feel like you are literally floating through the scenes happening, not watching them like a movie.
On the same note, I really recommend Eye of the Storm: Captain Jack’s Stunt Spectacular. This show is all in Chinese, so I had no idea what they were saying, but that did not make it any less enjoyable. It is fun and silly but has amazing stunts too.
Of course, there are many more things you should do and see while there (Enchanted Storybook Castle, TRON, Voyage to the Crystal Grotto to name a few), but the last thing I specifically want to recommend is the Camp Discovery Challenge Trail. In what other Disney park can you walk along the side of a cliff with a waterfall within arm's reach?
Final Thoughts
If you only speak English and are worried about going, none of the people in our group spoke Mandarin Chinese, and we were able to get by just fine. However, there was a lot less English spoken there compared to Disneyland Paris, Hong Kong Disney Resort, and Tokyo Disney Resort, so that’s something to be ready for. I recommend trying to learn some of the language no matter where you go, but especially so for here.
I have heard that people say the park is dirty and not well maintained. The only thing I did notice was some paint chipping on Voyage to the Crystal Grotto. But I thought the park was beautiful and didn’t feel it was any less clean than the other parks.
I also heard from a lot of people that the Chinese guests push and cut in lines, as well as there are children peeing or pooping around the park. In the line for Voyage to the Crystal Grotto, there was a mom that was letting her kids run throughout the line and kept encouraging them to try cutting to the front of the line, and in Toy Story Land there was a “bathroom situation” my friends saw, but those were the only two things that we experienced. My point in telling you this is that sometimes the things people say happen, do. However, in our experience, it was rare and did not ruin the trip at all. There are rude people in every country and every park, but that doesn’t represent every guest there.
If you love Disney parks and you love to travel, Shanghai Disneyland is an amazing place to visit. I love seeing how similar yet different all the parks are, and Shanghai Disneyland did not disappoint. I hope I will get to go back one day soon!
